POULTRY-PROCESSING LINE SPEEDS AS RELATED TO BACTERIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF BROILER CARCASSES

Aerobic plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli counts; and Salmonel la prevalence were determined on broiler carcasses obtained in a comme rcial slaughter establishment in Puerto Rico. Samples were obtained fr om three sites in the production process. Each site represented an end -point of a discrete segment of the slaughter process. Whole bird carc ass rinses (300) were randomly collected over 4 days of production for several linespeeds. Samples were collected for birds processed at 70 birds/min (BPM), 80 BPM, 90 BPM, and three replications of samples at 100 BPM (June 1990 to May 1991). A total of 1,800 carcass rinses were analyzed. Mean bacterial counts and Salmonella prevalence did not chan ge significantly with processing line speeds.